It is desirable to monitor the health of a gas turbine engine during and after operation to ensure safe and efficient operation and to maintain appropriate maintenance schedules. As an example, it is particularly desirable to monitor the health of turbine components. One parameter that impacts the health of the turbine components is the temperature of the air flowing through the turbine inlet. Conventional health management schemes attempt to consider this parameter. However, such temperatures are currently estimated based on tracking and monitoring information relating to turbine outlet temperature and extrapolating from outlet temperatures in an attempt to estimate turbine inlet temperature. Conventional inlet temperature estimations may not be sufficiently accurate. Real-time engine temperatures depend on numerous parameters, including fuel, operating speed, other operating characteristics, and individual engine characteristics. Conventional estimations may not fully account for all of these parameters.
With these considerations, the operation and maintenance of a gas turbine engine powered aircraft would be significantly enhanced if accurate, real-time information concerning the engine turbine inlet temperatures is available. For example, knowing the turbine inlet temperatures may enable operating changes to improve inlet temperatures and/or provide health information about the engine, including information about the remaining useful life of the turbine components and other engine components.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved operations support systems and methods that generate improved turbine inlet temperature information and associated health information. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.